November verse 11: On fair dinkum politics

OK, I’m committed to a stanza a day for the rest of the month. Yesterday I built on end-rhymes from a stanza n Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate. Today, back to the source of the Onegin stanza: Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, as translated by James E Falen. The arbitrarily chosen stanza that supplied the rhymes is in Chapter Two.

November verse 11: On fair dinkum politicsThe dream of being ruled by sagesis defunct. There on the crestof Parliament Hill a wildfire rages.No charm can soothe that savage breastwhose fuse is blown by power surges,trust’s betrayed by carnal urges.Far too many old white mentalk only to themselves and thenthey watch Sky News. Is there a swellingcloud to quench that toxic flame,to make that coal-fired monster lameand save our sweet blue planet-dwelling?You want a hero? Save your breath!It’s all together now – or death!

2 responses to “November verse 11: On fair dinkum politics”

D’accord! Y’know, being a person of “a certain age” I look across the chambers (Lower of Reps – Upper of Senators) and they all look like as if they’ve just left school. They are clever with their words back and forth – waving their legalese with ease – but of true life’s experience and compassion for others – little from the mob currently sitting on the government benches. The Punishers, The Bullies – the Negativists! The robbers of our fair dinkum rights – treasonous to us all (except their Gina, Twiggy and other mega-billionaire buddies)! That’s what I think – thanks for asking! But how strident my prose – your verse smooth!

The play is bonkers, but in a good way. Pamela Rabe, Colin Friels and Toby Schmidt are all brilliant. The set (by genius Brian Thomson), lighting design (Matthew Scott), and sound design (Paul Charlier) all remarkable. What Are we to make of the moment when Toby Schmidt's character pulls off his false moustache? Photo by Daniel Boud from Belvoir site.

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